NEWARK -- A suspect shot by a state trooper on Route 280 faces aggravated assault charges after authorities said he used a stolen vehicle as a battering ram while trying to escape.

Juan Colon, 52, of Newark is being held at Essex County Jail, said Peter Aseltine, spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office. In addition to five charges of aggravated assault, Colon also was charged with eluding arrest, receiving stolen property and weapons offenses in the Wednesday incident.

Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerPolice investigate the scene on Route 280 where a suspect shot by a state trooper used his stolen vehicle to ram into other cars on the highway while escaping police. State Police detectives were tracking Colon as part of an undercover investigation into car thefts and break-ins at service areas along the Garden State Parkway, authorities said.

Aseltine said three detectives in separate unmarked cars attempted to stop Colon around 8 a.m. when he got bogged down in traffic heading west on Route 280.

Authorities said Colon then tried to escape, ramming two police cars and one civilian vehicle with the stolen Jeep Cherokee Sport.

Detective Harold Ramirez fired a single shot, hitting Colon in the shoulder as he sat behind the wheel, authorities said.

The Attorney General's Office, which routinely examines all police shootings, declined to release more information because the investigation is ongoing.

State Police spokesman Sgt. Stephen Jones said following protocol, Ramirez and the other two detectives involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave with pay.

Ramirez, 32, joined the agency in 2002 and had not previously fired his weapon, Jones said.

Wednesday was the second time a State Police officer has opened fire on a suspect this year. In March, trooper Robert Costanzo shot and wounded Douglas Smith, 47, of East Amwell after Smith allegedly pointed a handgun at officers.